Always Winter, Never Christmas
by rockrchik
Summary: A short character study spanning the entire series this means spoilers for those who haven't read all of the manga .


**Always Winter, Never Christmas:**

_A short character study on Hatori Souma._

Written by: rockrchik17

Disclaimer: All characters and plots represented in this piece are owned by Natsuki Takaya.

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Most people believed time was linear, and on a large scale, Hatori agreed. On a smaller, annual scale, however, Hatori firmly believed time was cyclical. On the clock, cycles of 60 seconds made minutes, cycles of 60 minutes made hours, and cycles of 24 hours made days. On the calendar, cycles of days made weeks, cycles of weeks made months, and cycles of months made years. But, as a doctor, as well as the main pillar of strength and caring within the zodiac Soumas, Hatori knew the most important cycle was the seasons of a person's life.

Seasons of life, Hatori also found, could be compared to the four physical seasons: spring, summer, fall, and winter. Those in the season of spring experienced mental and emotional growth, although a more juvenile naivety and mind set, as well as general joy and happiness. This happiness was very easily shared with those around them, as well. Springs were externally motivated and eternally young. Kisa was in spring. Those in the season of summer tended to experience a period of relaxation and, in some cases - though not all - maturation. Summers were laid back and fun-loving and could bring that out in those around them as well. Shigure was in summer. Those in the season of fall tended to be quite mature and very serious and austere. They were not quite as joyful as springs or as laid-back as summers, but could have a fun nature of their own. Mayuko was in fall. Finally, there was winter. Those in winter were severe, and usually in mental anguish or under extreme emotional stress. They were quite often depressed and almost always closed off to others. There would always be a distance as long as they were in that season. Attitude problems were also quite common. Every member of the zodiac had had a season of winter, although none as long as Hatori had - because Hatori's time had paused. After the accident with Kana, Hatori's life had been permanently stopped in winter.

The first snow had come when Akito stole his eye, and, by default, almost stole his career. The second, when Kana became depressed and took the blame. As days past, the drifts began to build until Hatori could see nothing but white, feel nothing but the tingling numbness due to constant exposure to the cold. Finally, the snow buried him completely the day he let Kana go. His time stopped. Each day passed in a blur of work and Akito and Ayame and Momiji, but he was always buried in the white and the numbing cold and the silence - oh how he hated the silence the most! He had no clue how deep he was buried or if it was still snowing, but he was too afraid to find out. Not that the pressure of the snow around him allowed for any chance of escape to begin with. Hatori was stuck in winter, with no signs of spring coming anytime soon; not even Christmas.

The sun came tumbling into his life one fall day at his cousins' school festival, but he was buried under so much snow he never noticed. This Honda Tooru had gotten much too close to his family and the last outsider to do so had left him in his permanent winter and barely escaped her own. He would do his best to warn the girl of the treacherous family - right after he gave the yellow rabbit clinging to the girl a good scolding.

Christmas came for Hatori the day of the first snow of the year as he watched the sun cry for him. Time had once again started for Hatori, and he became scared because the deepest part of winter was yet to come.

Time moved slowly for the dragon and New Year's did not come until Golden Week, when he awoke from a much needed nap to a general clamor and one small voice questioning if she should get him a blanket. It snowed the most, then, as deepest winter hit: Kana had just married. But Hatori could put on a small, bittersweet smile because he could sense, and his two closest friends assured him, that winter was losing its hold.

The sun was constant, however clumsy, and Hatori could soon see the sky above his head and the horizon in front of him. The snow slowly, but surely began to melt thanks to the sun and the warmth she infused her surroundings with - a dog, a rabbit, a boar, a cow, a snake, a monkey, even a horse and a rooster.

Winter made its last strike one dark knight when the call from Shigure came saying the sun had fallen. She was alive, but barely, so night came and took his sun away from him and the snow began to build itself back up. The sun awoke, but she was still hidden behind the clouds, locked alone in her own winter in the sanitary white and fluorescent lights of the local hospital. Then, one day, when he felt winter would never end, the sun came back into his life the very day he felt the emptiness and heard the goodbye. The tears came then, tears of sadness for his loss, tears of joy for what he had gained, tears of fear of such an unknown landscape.

The first green came with a warm breeze the day Akito revealed her true self to the rest of the zodiac and dissolved any leftover traditions from the family's cursed, dark history, giving everyone their long deserved freedom. God's tears brought them forth. The sun had never been so bright before. The warmth finally returned to his numb limbs and he looked around for the first time in what seemed like an eternity and found spring with a fall-friend he never expected it from.

--

Hatori sighed in pure contentment as he leaned back into the beach chair and looked to his right at the snoozing sunbather beside him. No matter what Mayu said, she looked good in that bathing suit, especially with her hair down like that, although he hadn't wasted a chance to tease the poor woman earlier when she had first pulled off the wrap - Shigure had been right, the girl was fun to tease. Hatori smirked. He would enjoy his summer with Mayuko until they reached fall together and then he would find a better way to stop time so winter would never come again.

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You know, I was never a big fan of TorixMayu before writing this, but doing this character study gave me a bit of an understanding into Hatori's mind. I still prefer Toriru over any other pairing (maybe Kyoru ties with it, but c'mon, that's canon). Anyway, just wanted to give that tidbit out.

Now it's your turn to give a tidbit. Let me know what you think about this study and my writing. It's pretty easy. Just click the review button and write one or two sentences (more if you feel like it D). Thank you for your patronage!


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